On Politics
Last week I listened to Mitt Romney’s speech to a professional group of editors. It’s interesting how he compares President Obama to Candidate Obama – especially coming from him – the one who exceeds John Kerry’s flip-flops by a large margin.
Although I shook my head when I heard Hilary Rosen’s (CNN contributor) comment about Ann Romney, her next-day explanation was more pathetic.
President Obama recently stated the following in Chicago, “When it is 75 degrees in Chicago in the beginning of March, you start thinking.” If we was referring to global warming, that is not a good idea because any one who makes a comment about the weather at a given point in time in reference to global warming is giving a poor example for the support of or opposition to global warming.
Although national polls show President Obama leading Mitt Romney, let us not forget that the presidential election NOT a national vote, but a state-by-state proposition. In that light, last weekend’s Wall Street Journal had this interesting graphic regarding the election polls in key battleground states. Then again, much can change in the six months ahead.
Gotta love this one from The Onion: Gingrich asks Romney to Drop Out so He Can Focus on the General Election
Because someone should ask, here’s a question for Mitt Romney: You state President Obama prefers “European-style socialism.” Is this as opposed to American-style socialism?
Dork of the Year Nominees
- 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jerry Smith for throwing himself into a partisan situation by assigning a homework assignment to the Justice Department.
- Rep. Alan West (R-FL) for “.. there are 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party (in Congress) that are members of the Community Party.”
- Hilary Rosen (as previously stated)
On Headlines from The Onion
Rapid Swelling Man May Contain Traces of Peanuts
Bomb-Sniffing Dog Humps Bomb-Defusing Robot
Promising 9-Pound Bass to Turn Pro
Coughed Ritz Cracker Dust Beautifully Illuminated by Glow of Television
Sweeping Labor reforms Allow Employees to Work in Inhumane Conditions from Home
U.N. Acquires Nuclear Weapon
Rod Stewart Mistaken for Elderly Aunt
Interesting Reads
Citizen United Part II
Crawling Out of the Deep Unemployment Hole
Interesting graphic relating cost to height in New York City
Ruth Marcus Disorder in the Court
Tennessee’s Monkey Bill
Science Also Belongs to the Religious
On Potpourri
Woo hoo! This week I received my first-ever shipment as a wine club member.
I recently heard this interesting analogy: We find our life between two parallel tracks, joy and sorrow – and our life journey fluctuates between the two.
I will post tomorrow for the weekend.
Agree with him or not; like him or not; Mike Wallace dedicated himself to broadcast journalism for 50+ years. Here’s a wonderful tribute from CBS.
Sadly, I see my Cincinnati Reds Finishing second in the division this year because of my worries of inconsistent hitting, especially from the right hand side of the plate – but I still say Go Reds.
This past Monday I featured a wonderful rendition of Nearest My God to Thee. It wasn’t until Bruce pointed it out that this was the hymn being played on the Titanic’s deck – and this is the 100th anniversary of that tragic event. In the memory and honor of those on the Titanic, I present the solemn version of Nearest My God to Thee … and this time knowingly.
Have a good weekend everyone. In the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch. Now I close with Monday’s more joyous version.
A Frank Angle 
I like the bomb dog getting “busy” with the bomb-robot – what a great nexus of my love of tech and my love of animals!
My biggest fear of the UN getting a nuclear weapon would be finding someone who would actually get off their butts and do something with it – storage or deployment. Why do I picture a UN designate trying to hatch the thing like a giant egg? 😀
And on a completely serious conclusion, we should remember the “black gang” of the Titanic (so-called because they were black with coal dust). Not just the stokers who kept steam up for electrical power for lighting and pumping, but also the crew working the generators, keeping those lights and pumps going to the last. They volunteered to go below decks AFTER the ship hit the iceberg – much like the band, surrendering their lives and futures to be sure others would live. While the 1st-class rich get the notoriety, and the steerage class get occasional notice, the engineering crews often go unlamented. Like the crews that allowed the glamourous WW2 fighter pilots to gain their fame, these brave men should be honoured as the heroes they are. (PBS had a show on a couple nights ago, “Saving The Titanic”, about the engineering crew. If it repeats, I’ll try to drop a note here as to when it runs.)
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John,
Great commentary for the UN headline … perfect! On the other side, also a great tribute to the Titanic’s black gang, of which I found this source. http://www.rmstitanicremembered.com/?page_id=95 …. Thanks commenting and sharing the great information.
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Another good read…..thank you. And how was the wine club shipment? Please share 🙂
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Bella,
I was wondering if someone would ask about the wines. I plan in telling more over time. For instance, I have a post ready about wine clubs in general, so I will use that post to announce the one I joined. Then, down the road, I will share more about the wines themselves. Thus, I appreciate your question. Thanks for visiting and asking!
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Hi,
The Onion headlines:
” U.N. Acquires Nuclear Weapon”
John Erickson above said it best about this one, so I’ll just say, they wouldn’t know what to do with it, so it doesn’t matter.
“Rod Stewart Mistaken for Elderly Aunt”
Yes that is very understandable, he looks exactly like her, in fact they could be twins.
Beautiful music, it really is sad thinking about all those people and the terror of that night, freezing waters and everything so dark. My thoughts will be with them all when the time comes for the memorial service.
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Mags,
I almost saved the Rod Stewart headline for another day, so cheers … I made a good choice! As for John, he certainly has a way with words.
I don’t like to end my posts with a downer – and that first video is sad – so it seems the cello video was a good way to end on a positive note. Nonetheless, Titanic is a tragic event, and even 100 years later, the mere thought causes us to shiver. Thanks for commenting.
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I hope I can find some time this weekend to read more of your links! You provide quite the reading list…you’re all over the place, which to my eclectic nature, is just great! One of us needs to do a post on the three versions of Nearer My God to Thee! The topic of which version was played on the Titanic has been of some discussion. I will never run out of research topics! Let’s see what you have for us tomorrow! Debra
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Debra,
Discussions about the version of Nearest My God to Thee the Titanic band? Wow … I didn’t know about that. Interesting. Plus it is interesting how any song can be played so many different ways. Hopefully Lynn (the music professor at Composer in the Garden) will chime in on this. Meanwhile, thanks for the assortment of kind words and for commenting!
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Good morning Frank and as usual…no comment on politics.
Rapid Swelling Man May Contain Traces of Peanuts actually made me laugh out loud, but I think Rod Stewart Mistaken for Elderly Aunt is the winner and
fully answers the question…do we think he’s sexy.
Thanks for the links to what looks like some interesting reads for the weekend, and speaking of which…I hope you enjoy yours!
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If one likes Obama, can’t afford to just sit back and assume he’ll win. Got to have the attitude that we can’t afford to have him lose.
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I miss following the day to day of the presidential campaign. Is Gingrich still in it? And the “Rapid Swelling Man May Contain Traces of Peanuts” is hilarious. I hate seeing those warnings on everything.
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Well said on the politics section.
I’ll go with ritz Cracker, because it really does! ;:
Have a great weekend Frank!
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You are right those ten states hold the key in the electoral college. They are also the ten places where the presidential candidates are going to burn $1-$2 billion in advertising. I live in one of them, and the bombardment has already begun.
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Randel,
And the Ohio campaign has been going on too … so we can feel each other’s pain. Thanks for commenting.
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Nice Frank. I can’t believe how badly these guys (Obama and Romney) blow opportunities to actually connect with the people. And those dufus statements about the weather don’t help.
Good point about the apparent difference between American and Euro socialism. Huh?
For being a dumb American, it sure is easy to see through these guys. Bragging about who cares more about women insults women.
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Les,
Yes, politicians make it too easy. All one has to do is listen closely, and then do some fact checking … then – ZING! Meanwhile, after 24 hours of getting raked over the coals, Hilary Rosen finally fessed up. Again, she had a chance the morning after and decided to take the low road. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
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Love this ” I recently heard this interesting analogy: We find our life between two parallel tracks, joy and sorrow – and our life journey fluctuates between the two.” so true.
Poor Rod Stewart I saw this on TV not nice for the old rocker. Rod Stewart Mistaken for Elderly Aunt
Have a Great Weekend! :+)
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Starla,
You are not the only one who enjoyed the Rod Stewart headline! And yes … the parallel tracks is awesome. Have a good weekend and thanks for commenting.
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while i’m no fan of mr. or mrs. romney, i find it odd how many people without great amounts of money will react to people with great amounts of money. usually, we think of them as snobs, which in unfair without knowing them. but when mr. romney is speaking to an audience in detroit, where unemployment is horrible, it’s going to seem pretty snobbish to say that you love cars and your wife has two cadillacs. now you’ve made yourself a target.
it’s unfair to attack ann romney because she’s never worked a day in her life, assuming that comment was accurate. if i were ever lucky enough to not have to “work” in the traditional sense, i can’t say what i would choose and i can’t fault anyone who would choose not to work. however, i would hope they would involve themselves in meaningful things and not come out with public statements that might be critical about or offensive to those who do work. i’m not saying ann romney made such comments. i have no idea because she’s not interesting enough for me to pay attention to her.
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Rich,
Interesting points. I’m not a Romney supporter, but I have to side with them to a degree on this one – although yes, aside from the clueless comments as the two Cadillacs.
Hilary Rosen was trying to make the point that if Ann Romney hasn’t been employed during her adult life, why should her husband seek her advice regarding career opportunities for women … BUT … Rosen had a poor choice of words – and didn’t recant when she had the chance. Also, when the candidate’s spouse has a high approval rating, stay away from saying anything negative about the spouse. Nonetheless, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Just catching up on the blogs I follow, Frank. I always appreciate your Opinions in the Shorts. You have a thoughtful political commentary on a few items in recent news, you share hilarious headlines and recommended reads from your own (obviously extensive) reading, and you round it out with your Potpourri and interesting videos. This is ALWAYS an interesring place to visit.
–John
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John,
I try to make Friday just as you described – thus something for everyone. Thanks for commenting.
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